Following in giants’ footsteps

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This article was published 26/07/2023 (823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Doug Greenwald’s resume says he studied broadcasting at Boston University, but it was Candlestick Park — the former home of the San Francisco Giants — where he received his most influential training.

As the son of the late, great Hank Greenwald, the Giants’ lead radio announcer from 1979-86, and again from 1989-96 after a two-year stint calling the action for the New York Yankees, Doug got to spend his teen years learning from not only his father, but also opposing broadcasters such as Harry Caray and Vin Scully when they rolled into town.

Doug, now 48 and the new play-by-play voice for the Winnipeg Goldeyes on CJNU 93.7 FM, has countless stories from those days, such as hanging out with Montreal Expos broadcasters Jacques Doucet and Rodger Broulotte despite not understanding a word they were saying on the air. There’s one memory, and one call, that will always be in its own category.

“The pitch is grounded to second base, (Robby) Thompson has it, he throws it to first, it’s over, 27 years have come to an end, the Giants have won the pennant!” said Doug, reciting his dad’s famous call from Oct. 9, 1989 when San Francisco beat the Chicago Cubs to advance to the World Series.

“It was just cool to be in that booth with him, because there were enough other times being in the booth with him where it’s a Tuesday night in May against Montreal with 3,000 people at the game where the game in regards to the standings didn’t mean a whole lot, but that game, the pennant, it meant a whole lot. I would say that’s the one memory I have that sticks out more than any.”

Now in Winnipeg, Doug hopes he can create similar memories on the airwaves for Fish fans.

How did he land here, of all places?

He spent the past 20 seasons being the voice on the dial for the Fresno Grizzlies, who, until 2021 were members of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He was let go in mid-January due to budget cuts. Later that month, the Goldeyes said goodbye to their play-by-play voice as Steve Schuster, who had been with the club since 2014, accepted a data analyst position in the New York Mets’ organization.

The baseball broadcasting circle is small, so Doug and Schuster know each other and have met several times. When he reached out to Schuster to congratulate him on the new gig, he also asked for some intel on the job in Winnipeg.

“Coincidentally, last season during my all-star break, I’m such a baseball nut that I go and watch more baseball. Most guys during their all-star break they like to have time off,” said Doug.

“But I like to go to ballparks from leagues that I’m not in because it’s fun to see different ballparks and I can connect with other radio guys that I normally don’t see. So, I looked at the schedule and thought, ‘Darn, Winnipeg isn’t home. I’ve never been to Manitoba and I’ve heard good things about the Goldeyes.’ So, I ended up going to see the Goldeyes play at Chicago against the Dogs.”

One summer later, Doug is now with the Fish for all 100 games. He’s also wasted no time in exploring the province as he’s already made trips to Gimli as well as Morden to visit the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Goldeyes entered Wednesday night’s game at Shaw Park against the visiting Sioux City Explorers in last place in the 12-team loop with 26-37 record.

“When I got the position here, everyone from other broadcasters in this league, to people who’ve been in this league from players or whoever, they’ve all said you’ll love Winnipeg, you’ll love (general manager) Andrew (Collier), (owner) Sam (Katz), the staff, the environment, the fans. Everyone is so passionate about baseball, everyone who I just mentioned, that’s what I’ve learned. It’s all true,” said Doug.

Schuster, the 2022 American Association Broadcaster of the Year, left big shoes to fill and the Goldeyes couldn’t have asked for a more accomplished replacement. In addition to his work with Fresno, he also did the Giants’ spring training games online for years, and also got called up to work 12 regular season games in the big leagues. Doug’s MLB debut came in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“I was allowed to take the charter back to San Francisco with the team, and after all the years of us picking dad up from the airport after a road trip, he actually came and picked me up,”said Doug.

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“It was very emotional.”

Getting back to affiliated ball — where he got to describe the play of Giants stars like Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey, and Madison Bumgarner before they became household names in the Bay Area — or climbing even higher remains the goal for Doug, but that doesn’t mean he’s not enjoying himself on this side of the border. Other than the long bus rides to and from the Prairie province, the biggest adjustment has been only having 100 games on the calendar. Affiliated leagues have between 132-150 games in a season.

“Am I happy here? Absolutely. The people here are great. I love my time here, I do. But will I be looking towards full season again? Yes, sure. That’s what I’m used to.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAlen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.